


Lay My Body Down

by AllTheFeels



Series: like rusting pennies [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Jason Blossom deserved better, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Polyamory, Teenage Rebellion, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 21:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11261187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheFeels/pseuds/AllTheFeels
Summary: "This is a 2013 Domaine du Banneret," Jason breathes, "14.5% alcohol."Archie grins.-After Jason's body is found, Archie reminisces.





	Lay My Body Down

Archie feels sick. His stomach keeps seizing, and he's right on the verge of sprinting out of the house. 

They found the body.

They weren't supposed to find the body.

He closes his eyes, breathes in deep. Counts to ten. He can do this. He's alright. Archie stands, legs trembling, as he lunges for his bedside table, ripping open the drawer and tearing through it, searching. Then, a glint of metal, and his fingers close around it.

A frail, bronzed maple leaf pin. 

-

Jason sat cross legged on the dirt floor of the wine cellar. When he wasn't at school, Archie noted, he looked so different--- smaller. His eyes flickered from corner to corner, long fingers tapping patterns into the ground. Within the confines of his home, he wore rumpled cardigans, and tonight as no exception. 

"The fun part," Jason finally said, wetting his lips nervously, "Is trying to figure out if bottles contain wine or maple syrup."

Archie giggled, just a little, "For real? Some of this is just, I dunno, insanely expensive maple syrup?"

Jason shrugged, "Hazards of the family business, I guess."

Archie grinned, prompting Jason to reach into the crumpled messenger bag lying beside him and pull out two pristine white mugs. 

"We're being really high class tonight," Jason added, "So, what's your selection, then?" 

Archie closed his eyes and pointed in a random direction, his finger landing on a polished bottle that Jason stands and attends to, unscrewing the cap and smiling, unbeknownst to the other redhead, with a surprised pleasure.

"This is a 2013 Domaine du Banneret," Jason breathes, "14.5% alcohol."

Archie grins.

-

He gives the pin to Cheryl a few days later. He sends her a DM on twitter, and although she doesn't trust him at first--- actually, she probably still doesn't trust him--- she does agree to meet him at Pop's. 

She slides into the booth, all tight clothes and polished makeup, but Archie can see it; Jason's death has shook something within her, something deep.

"Listen," He mumbles, "I knew. About the plan."

She stiffens, just a touch, but otherwise doesn't appear frazzled at all. Instead of asking questions, or even trying to argue with him, Cheryl fixes him with a cold stare and says, "Archie, maybe you have a fever, because I think you're making things up . I don't have a clue what you're talking about." 

Archie's hands feel thick as he fumbles for the pin, pulling it out of his backpack. Before he reveals it, though, he stares right back at Cheryl and snarls, "This stays with me."

The maple leaf is lowered onto the table, and for the first time since the funeral, Cheryl's facade shatters. 

-

"Shut up, Arch," Jason murmured, his head on the other boy's shoulder, "If you keep being loud as fuck," His voice slurred, "M'parents are going to wake up."

They're deep into a bottle of 2005 Scarecrow Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and Archie could feel it. His head was blurry, his limbs felt disconnected, and most importantly, Jason was so much prettier. 

Archie laughed out loud, then slapped a hand over his mouth when Jason looked up at him. The other boy would have killed him if he'd known what Archie was thinking; Jason had always hated being called "pretty".

Once, weeks prior, when they'd polished off nearly a quarter of another bottle, Jason had blearily explained that he felt like an object. He was sick of people caressing his cheeks, or commenting on his complexion, or running their hands through his perfectly gelled and combed hair.

Drunk and a little dumb, Archie had pointed out that Jason's hair wasn't perfect at that moment, and Jason had snorted, rolled his eyes.

"Because of you," He'd said, tugging on one red strand that fell in front of his face, "I had it under control until you decided to surprise me."

Archie had smirked and crawled across the cellar floor to where Jason sat, his back against the bottom shelf. 

"Thought it was a nice surprise," Archie teased, plopping himself down on Jason's lap, "Guess I won't do it again." 

Jason laughed, biting his lip to keep from making too much noise. His hands went to Archie's hips first, then dipped lower as he'd mumbled, "I didn't say it wasn't nice."

-

Archie's phone pings during lunch, and he has to look away from Betty and Jughead's latest bout of touchiness to read,

"We sure Polly didn't do it"

Texting with Cheryl is the worst. In her tweets, Facebook posts, or any other form of social media, her words were playful and carefully punctuated with the perfect choice of emoji. When she texted, though? It was worse than business correspondence, just straight to the point and often lacking punctuation of any kind or even an attempt at punctuation.

Archie rolls his eyes, just a little.

"No," He types back, "We had an arrangement...type...thing. Idk. But it was all good with her."

The reply is instant, but it's not what he's expecting.

"What was Jason"

That actually manages to startle Archie, given that beyond confirming the basics, he'd never talked about Jason with her. She never really seemed to want to know, and Archie understands that. It would be easier if he just didn't know any side of Jason other than the one he met in the wine cellar during the night. He can't imagine how she feels, hearing about all of...this...after he's gone.

"He just loved two people," Archie replies, tempted to add a shrugging emoji, "Doesn't matter what he was." 

"How did you get into our house."

Damn, she even added a period to that response. Apparently, their lunch break had been renamed "Archie and Cheryl play 21 questions".

"He would leave the back door unlocked + wait for me inside."

"Why didn't he tell me"

-

"They'd kill me, you know," Jason said, leaning back on Archie's chest, "If they found us. Or if I figured out what the hell they're hiding. I guess I've just gotta see which one happens first."

**Author's Note:**

> Hey kids! This one is based off of a headcanon that my friend and I made while talking about Jason and how little we actually know about him. It is actually going to be a part of a series all about Archie and Jason's relationship, and if you have any questions for requests, please leave them down in the comments! Thank you <3  
> (Title of the work is from the Rag'n'Bone Man song Lay My Body Down)


End file.
